Depression becomes Tropical Storm Florence

Tropical Depression 6 was upgraded to Tropical Storm Florence on Saturday morning, making it the sixth named storm of the 2018 hurricane season.

A tropical storm warning was in effect for the Cabo Verde Islands of Santiago, Fogo and Brava, off the west coast of Africa, according to the National Hurricane Center. There aren’t any coastal watches or warnings in effect.

The storm is moving west-northwest at 16 mph and is a few hundred miles west of the Cabo Verde Islands. A 5 p.m. NHC discussion said it should keep this track for the next two days, and forecasters expect by day 5 for the storm to slow down and shift in a northwest direction.

The highest sustained winds clocked in at 45 mph, with even stronger gusts. Tropical storm force winds stretch out 35 miles from the storm’s center.

About 1 or 2 extra inches of rain were expected in the southern Cabo Verde Islands on Saturday.

A second system in the Atlantic, a tropical wave hovering north of Hispaniola, could cause extra rain in South Florida early next week. The wave has a 10 percent chance of forming within the next two days and 40 percent chance of form- ing in five days.

According to the National Weather Service in Miami, the wave could produce periods of heavy rain, localized flooding as well as isolated tornadoes and waterspouts between tonight and early Tuesday.

The system could move across the northern Gulf of Mexico coast between the early and middle part of this week.